


Losing sleep

by PerriewinkleNerdie



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novel)
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-17 09:07:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20618510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerriewinkleNerdie/pseuds/PerriewinkleNerdie
Summary: She's stressed and tired, and he knows just a thing to help her





	Losing sleep

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello, hello!   
We have some comfort, definitely some fluff and caring Ethan, cause I like him that way  
Enjoy! <3

It’s been a long day, and it was not even finished. She still had four more hours to go, and she was already feeling like she would break down at the first opportunity that presented itself to her. Even though she felt like a truck went over her, she gritted her teeth and put on a smile, deciding to be strong for the sake of her patients.

Claire needed a break. Badly. She had trouble falling asleep, insomnia hitting her pretty badly, either waking up every hour or so, or making it impossible for her to sleep altogether. Not many things helped, she tried almost everything, to no avail. The only thing that helped her, which she discovered totally by accident, as they were finishing the reports late at night, was sleeping next to Ethan. That intrigued her, but there was clearly something going on. How he smelled, how he kept her close, how he kissed her shoulder softly right before falling asleep. It all had an impossibly calming effect on her, his touch worked wonders, and that night was the very first night in a very long time that she slept the whole night peacefully.

Just because of that, or at least that’s what she was telling herself, she made up her mind to go to his place after her shift was over. She didn’t have time to warn him that she was coming, but she knew that he was home, his shift finished two hours before her. She hesitated for a moment, before deciding to use her key. He was just as tired as she was, he could have been sleeping, and she would never forgive herself if she woke him up.

As it turned out, he wasn’t sleeping. Upon entering his apartment, she was met with a sight not many people could say they saw. As a matter of fact, she was pretty sure she was the only person to have ever seen it. The sight of a relaxed Ethan Ramsey.

He was stretched out on his couch, resting comfortably with a book in his hands, reading it calmly, a typical glass of wine replaced by a cup of tea instead. She has never seen him more at peace than in that moment, and she felt guilty for interrupting his alone time. She closed the door behind her, trying not to make a sound, but his eyes moved to her figure anyway.

“Rookie? What are you doing here, is everything alright?” he ran his gaze all over her, searching for anything that would be out of order. When he found nothing, he returned his blue eyes to her green ones, trying to read her. He saw all her emotions there, hitting him hard as he could almost feel the intensity of them. “Come here.”

He closed and placed the book he was reading on the coffee table and moved to make her a cup of tea, instructing her to make herself comfortable on the couch. He joined her there shortly, taking her into his arms, pressing a calming kiss to her forehead.

“I’m sorry I interrupted you. I don’t want to be a burden.”

“You are not a burden, Rookie. Now, what can I do for you.”

She shook her head urgently, pushing him back against the couch, putting his book back into his hands.

“Read if you like, I am just going to sit here, maybe read something myself. I just needed to see you, I needed to… just be with you. Again, I’m sorry if I-“ she didn’t get to finish that sentence, Ethan’s eyes burning holes into her, stopping her effectively.

So here they were, laying on the couch of his quiet apartment at 10 pm on a work night, their legs laced together, both reading their own books. Ethan kept his one hand on her calf, running it up and down in a calming manner. Claire sighed, her thoughts running away from his apartment and straight back to the hospital. Her muscles tensed, her fingers tightened around her covers of the book she was reading, and she let out a long breath she was holding.

“Okay, what is going on. Talk to me, Claire, I’m getting worried here.”

“It’s nothing really, it’s just…”

“Claire, if you tense your muscles even more, you’re going to tear them. Come on, tell me.” He put their books on the table and pulled her to him, turning her away from him, so he could have better access to her back. His hands went to the places where her neck and her shoulders met and he started massaging her, applying pressure to the tensed muscles. Working the knots that were there out, he felt her slowly starting to relax as she let out a low moan, closing her eyes. He leaned forward, pressing a tender kiss to her neck, making her head fall forwards.

“I’ve been having that awful insomnia for the past two weeks, which resulted in me not sleeping almost at all. On top of that, I have that incredibly difficult case and I can’t seem to relax and…”

He pulled her back to him, her back to his chest, her head falling onto his shoulder with a sigh. He kissed her hair, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he murmured into her ear softly, unsure of what he was supposed to say.

“I didn’t want to give you more things to worry about, you are tired and stressed out enough as it is. And besides, there is really not much I can do about it.”

“But you came here tonight. You’re not telling me something here, Claire.”

_Dammit. _He really is observant. Nothing would escape him, one could say that it was a high time that she learned that.

“Yes… truth be told, the only time I slept in the last few weeks was… well, when I was sleeping next to you. You calm me, no idea why or how you’re doing it, but you somehow do it.”

She couldn’t see the shy smile that appeared on his lips when she said those words. She was stressed and tired. And it was his duty to help her relax.

He stood up, picking her up in his arms, much to her protests cut with laughter. He grinned at her, carrying her to his bathroom, starting the water in the bathtub.

“What are you doing?” she questioned when he added fragrance oil to the water, bubbles appearing on the surface almost immediately.

“_We_ are going to take a bath together. And I’m going to take care of you.” he trailed his index finger down her cheek before moving to take his shirt of. He felt her eyes on him and smirked. “Come on, Rookie, it’s not the first time you’re seeing this.”

“I’ll have you know that each time gets better.” She shot back without missing a beat, a gorgeous smile adorning her lips as she reached over to her clothes, following him suit.

They got into the tub, sinking into the water, her sitting before him, between his legs, her back on his chest. Ethan ran his hands up and down her arms before reaching for a bottle of shampoo, leaning her head back towards him to make his task easier. He massaged the product into her hair and scalp, earning a groan from her, a low sound of approval and appreciation.

They cleaned each other, taking their time, paying attention to their bodies. After a while Claire found herself resting safely in Ethan’s arms, his hands holding her to him tightly as the water they were in was slowly running cold. She felt herself relaxing completely, her eyes becoming heavier with every minute that passed.

They got out of the tub and he wrapped her in a fluffy, warm towel, helping her dry herself, then passing her his shirt so she had something to sleep in. She put it on as he dried himself, and after that he grabbed the hair dryer and took her by her hand, leading her to his bedroom. She sat down on the edge of his bed as he plugged the dryer and got to work, paying attention to each strand of her red hair, moving it delicately out of the way. She was about ready to fall asleep by the time he was finished, his arms around her as he pulled them both under the covers, turning the lights off.

Her head was laying on his chest, their limbs tangled together, his hand running up and down her back in a soothing manner. She snuggled closer to him, her eyes closing despite herself. The last thing she remembered, before she fell into a blissful slumber, was the feeling of his lips against her forehead, and a soft whisper into the silence of the night.

_“I’m so lucky to have you. Goodnight, Claire.”_


End file.
